The resurgence of Thrash Metal is the result of veteran Thrash bands making great new music and new Thrash bands coming up and demanding attention. This resurgence continues with a twenty-six city trek across the U.S. led by Cavalera Conspiracy, with Thrash legends Death Angel, Corrosion of Conformity Blind, and Lody Kong. Cavalera Conspiracy and Sepultura founders, Max and Iggor Cavalera, have been making Metal music together for most of their lives. At an early age, the death of their father had a tremendous impact on their future. Max’s discovery of Black Sabbath during that time pushed the brothers in the direction of Heavy Metal music, where they found sustained success, together and separately, in many different projects. Max and Iggor parted ways when Max left Sepultura in 1996 and went on to form Soulfly and Killer Be Killed. Igor would stay in Sepultura until 2006 before leaving and rejoin his brother to form Cavalera Conspiracy along with Soulfly guitarist Marc Rizzo and Gojira’s Joe Duplantier on bass. They released three records together including, Inflikted (2008), Blunt Force Trauma (2011) with bassist Johny Chow replacing Duplantier, and Pandemonium (2014) with bassist Nate Newton of Converge. The latest tour made one of two scheduled New York stops and, on a normally unassuming Thursday night on April 16th, Revolution Bar & Music Hall was prime for some heavy music to jump-start their weekend a day early.
Hometown Thrashers Accelerator grabbed the opening spot, taking advantage of a late cancellation. Seizing the opportunity, new addition and Lead Vocalist Joe Murray came out encouraging the crowd closer, while Lead Guitarist Tim Como, Bassist Richard ‘Wham’ Halloran, and Drummer Weston Mahalic put together a great set of Hard and Fast Metal to kick things off. Accelerator is a hard working local Thrash band to watch out for.
From Phoenix, Arizona, Lody Kong brought a huge energy to the room. It is no surprise that this band is full of attitude, made up of Max Cavalera’s sons Zyon, on Drums, and Igor, on vocals and guitar. Joining them creating madness was John Bauer on guitar and Shanks Fahey on bass. Combining Thrash, Hardcore, and Punk, they were loud and heavy as they performed tracks from their debut EP, No Rules, along with some more recent offerings. Lody Kong continues the tradition of brothers making great Metal music and putting on killer shows. Be sure to arrive early to check this band out.
Next was Corrosion of Conformity Blind. While the name may confuse some Corrosion of Conformity fans, this new project is the result of original C.O.C. drummer Reed Mullin, and singer Karl Agell deciding to get out on the road and perform music from the Corrosion of Conformity 1991 record Blind. They enlisted the help of bassist Jerry Barrett, as well as guitarists Scott Little and TR Gwynn. There was a tremendous buzz in the venue leading up to the show, and the band was met with an enthusiastic crowd. Agell immediately engaged them with some earnest banter, as he displayed a great sense of humor telling tales of low bridges, GPS, and how they were “some slow southern boys” getting to Amityville. All joking aside, he went on to say, “… our night right now fucking rules” and they pounded out the Corrosion of Conformity record Blind to a packed house. Beginning with “Painted Smiling Face,” the crowd seemed especially amped to see Agell, as he sang on the album that launched the band into mainstream Metal’s upper tiers. Songs like “Dance of the Dead” and “Vote with a Bullet” drew cheers as well as “The Great Purification.” Agell went on and thanked Mullin for agreeing to do this tour and they closed the set by grabbing a fan from the audience to play bass on “legionnaires Disease,” the first cover song that Corrosion of Conformity ever learned. Overall, it was a great set start to finish and a wonderful trip down memory lane for fans of the Blind album.
The name Death Angel may evoke images of the West Coast Thrash Metal quintet tearing up New York City at their peak. Originally formed in 1982, after a ten year hiatus, Death Angel reformed in 2001, and peaked again with 2013’s The Dream Calls For Blood. Once again on the East Coast, Death Angel started things off with “Left For Dead” and “Son Of The Morning.” Singer Mark Osegueda thanked everyone in attendance for supporting underground music, adding, “It’s Thursday and we’re not fucking around !” Thereafter, guitarists Rob Cavestany and Ted Aguilar began “Claws In So Deep” featuring great backing vocals. Next up was “Fallen” and drummer Will Carroll drove Death Angel with relentless speed and precision the entire night, while Bassist Damien Sisson kept the bottom solid and heavy. Osegueda spoke of Death Angels long history with Long Island, noting their many appearances at Sundance at three am. With laser focus and precision, the band tore through “Buried Alive,” “Succubus,” “Execution – Don’t Save Me,” and “Evil Priest,” before revisiting The Dream Calls For Blood with the title track, into “Caster of Shame” and finally “The Ultra Violence.” Osegueda told the crowd that he wanted to see them moving, then said “Scratch that, we wanna FEEL you moving !” He got his wish and Death Angel was a force to witness.
The time had come for headliners Cavalera Conspiracy. In support of their third album Pandemonium released in late 2014, many fans have already dug into the material, thus could not wait to hear it live. With that said, moments before the band was ready to hit the stage, many could be heard screaming in anticipation.
It was obvious how much it meant to Max to be able to introduce his brother, Igor, on the drums. He made it clear by giving the spotlight to his brother several times during the show. The first time was right before “Babylonian Pandemonium,” which features Iggor prominently in the opening. The first track from Pandemonium gave way to “Sanctuary,” then “Refuse/Resist,” during which Max stopped the song to demand a New York style circle pit, and “Territory,” both Sepultura covers. “The Doom Of All Fires” from their 2008 debut album Inflikted followed, as Max spun his finger in the air above his head, signaling his desire to see the crowd churn in a circle before him, his voice, demonic in nature, cut through the huge sound of Rizzo and Newton flowing from the stage.
The crowd was then treated the Nailbomb cover “Sum of Your Achievements.” “Torture” was next and “Troops Of Doom,” a callback to the Sepultura’s first record. Max once again called attention to his brother, this time leading the audience in chants of “Igor, Igor, Igor” as he began “Killing Inside” with a huge thudding drum intro. The room shook as the crowd bounced in unison, singing “I won’t take it !” to the Sepultura song “Attitude.” The band reached back to the first Cavalera Conspiracy record Inflikted and performed the title track .” Once again, Max turned and pointed to Igor and called for the final circle pit of the night. Chaos followed and the band ended the night with the encores “Orgasmatron” a Motörhead cover, and “Roots Bloody Roots” from the classic 1996 Sepultura record Roots.
This show had it all. Classic Thrash Metal, a bit of Hardcore, Punk, and classic Metal. Fans got a taste of Max Cavalera’s long history of Metal as Cavalera Conspiracy twisted and turned from classic Sepultura, to Nailbomb, and Motorhead as well as throughout the years since the brothers have reunited. Death Angel showed their fangs are still razor sharp. Lody Kong gave us an encouraging glimpse of the future of the Cavalera family and the genre of Thrash and Hardcore Metal, and Corrosion of Conformity Blind came back in yet another form and held the crowd firmly throughout their performance of the album Blind in its entirety; furthering the resurgence of Thrash Metal in America.
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